Rosemount Australian Fashion Week 2011 – Raffles

May 13th, 2011

“Raffles show a great success” tweeted Glynis Traill-Nash, one of Australia’s most prominent fashion editors, from her front row seat. Raffles College of Design and Commerce made a triumphant debut on the Rosemount Australian Fashion Week runway. Showcasing a selection of talented past students from Raffles colleges both here and abroad, Raffles came to the fore as a prominent leader in fashion education.

The Raffles RAFW International Showcase featured three Sydney Bachelor of Design (Fashion Design) graduates who were recently awarded the opportunity to showcase their work to fashion’s most respected and renowned critics from both Australia and abroad, by a panel of industry experts who included: Dan Single (Ksubi), Nicola Finetti and Akira Isogawa. Joining the home grown talent were two international graduates from the Raffles Shanghai and Singapore campus’.

The Raffles RAFW International Showcase featured:

• Byron McGilvray (Byron Bay, Australia);

• Peggy Hartanto (Sydney, Australia);

• Winson Tan (Sydney, Australia);

• Crystal Tsoi (Sydney, Australia);

• Erin Loh (Singapore);

• Zhigang ‘Del’ Chen (Shanghai, China).

With designs that demonstrated innovative thinking, commercial appeal and the exploration of trends, the showcase certainly impressed me, with positive feedback flowing in from all directions post show.

“Participating in RAFW will forever be a shimmering moment in my career,” explains Australian designer Peggy Hartanto of her RAFW experience. “The show went really well, even beyond my expectation. To be involved in RAFW was really meaningful to me especially as a new, young designer. It is a big stepping stone into the industry for me.”

“Having designers from Shanghai and Singapore as part of the mix of our spring summer 2011 collection really defines the meaning of an Australia-Pacific fashion week,” explains Robert de Giovanni, Raffles Program Director, Fashion Design & Fashion Marketing. “As the only private education provider participating in RAFW, Raffles fashion program is the only program of its kind in Australia that can really lay claim to be interacting with global markets to which our students now have direct access. Our course feeds directly into both established and emerging markets throughout the region in a way which is unique.”

A clean cut, smooth running and entertaining show… I thoroughly enjoyed myself. These guys really know how to put on a stylish show.